Why You Need To Take Online Courses Before Creating Your Own

Would you become a driver’s ED instructor without knowing how to drive? Of course not! So, why would you become an online course creator without taking a single online course?

For many potential online instructors, the lure of teaching while having more freedom to spend with family and friends makes them jump into online course creation without a second thought.

It’s not until they’ve already created a course that they realize they’re lost. The first step no one ever really talks about is to take online courses before doing anything else.

Understand Your Students

If you want to understand what online students want, become one yourself. It’s all about getting to know what online courses are from the other side. You’ll be able to see how other students interact, what their complaints are and even how it feels to learn in an online environment.

See What You Like And Don’t Like

You could read dozens of articles about what not to do and what obstacles to avoid, but experiencing it all first-hand is still important. What elements did you love? What made it easier to learn? What parts were just a major pain? Were course videos too long, too short or just right? Did you like the interactive elements or would you prefer something else?

Once again, it’s about discovering preferences from a student’s point of a view. It’s truly amazing how differently you’ll see things.

Better Understand Course Structure

When you take online courses before creating your own, you’re able to better design your own course. Take a few popular courses. They don’t have to cost an arm and a leg. In fact, look at popular online course marketplaces for free and discount courses to get your feet wet.

You’ll quickly discover how courses are structured. You’ll see how modules work and when to insert interactive elements. After all, why re-create the wheel when you don’t have to?

Discover The Best Ways To Interact

Interaction isn’t always easy with online courses. When you take online courses, you discover different methods that students and instructors interact. While much of this is personal preference, you’ll see which methods you like best, such as forums, email and chat sessions.